MAYBE it’s because I’ve been glued to The Great British Bake Off lately, but my sweet tooth has been feeling extra sweet recently. What’s this got to do with beer? Well, craft brewers will take inspiration from a lot of places and the idea of different beers for different moods is now as prevalent as suggestive quips about soggy bottoms.
The GBBO recently did a caramel week and it reminded me of two things – how much I love caramel squares and I really must crack open that bottle of Millionaire I got in my last Beer52 box.
Taking its cue from the now ubiquitous millionaire’s shortbread which you can now find slabs of behind the counter in any coffee shop, Millionaire is a salted caramel chocolate milk stout brewed by the Wild Beer Co. It’s billed as a dessert stout and would certainly be a fine accompaniment to some petits fours or chocolate truffles.
When poured, it is like velvet in a glass. It has the mouthfeel of a classic milk stout, all smooth and creamy but there’s an intense sweetness to it as well which is then beautifully balanced by the hit of salt – Cornish sea salt, to be precise.
According to the label, this is supposed to make you feel decadent and there is certainly a comforting richness to it. It’s not sickly sweet and the lactose does a good job of smoothing the extremes of flavour. At 4.7 per cent, it’s an easy drinker but one which packs in some sumptuous flavours.
AS AUTUMN rolls in, beers tend to turn as dark as the nights. It’s not a hard and fast rule and good beer is good beer at any time of the year, but if you find yourself hankering after a good dark ale then give the Irish brown ale from Carlingford Brewing Company’s Donn Cuailnge special range a go.
It pours a very dark brown colour and the consistency is almost like a stout. There are loads of comforting flavours in there – a lovely nutty, roasty flavour of the malt and strong hints of chocolate and coffee. There’s a smoothness to it which leans it towards a milk stout but plenty of roasty flavours you’d get in a dark red or brown ale. It’s 5.3 per cent, comes in a pint bottle and is perfect on a chilly autumn evening, when a nice bowl of stew to accompany it wouldn’t go amiss.
